It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown!
by ChrstnWrtr
Summary: The Peanuts Gang goes to Hogwarts School of Wizardry!
1. It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown!

It's Hogwarts School, Charlie Brown! Charlie Brown and the gang meet Harry Potter!  
  
By: Shannon   
  
(I do not own the characters in this fanfic....pardon me if this fanfic seems a bit stupid...this is dedicated in memory of Charles "Sparky" Schulz, creator of Peanuts).  
  
As the start of their 4th year began, Ron, Hermione, and Harry set up their things in their living quarters and headed down to the cafeteria for lunch.  
  
"Harry," said Ron. "Are you or are you NOT going to get up the guts to talk to Cho Chang?" He and Hermione giggled as Harry's face turned bright red.  
  
"Um, well..." muttered Harry. Suddenly, he noticed a group of first-year students sitting at the far end of the cafeteria. They were all short, and one of them was a dog sporting sunglasses with a little yellow canary bird perched on his shoulder.   
  
"I've never seen that group before," said Harry adjusting his glasses. "Must be first-year students."  
  
"Yeah, must be," said Ron eating a roast beef sandwich.   
  
"And what puzzles me is WHY they have a dog with them," said Hermione, having a sip of water. "But he'll make friends with Hagrid in no time. What puzzles me even more is that the dog is wearing sunglasses! And there's a bird on his shoulder too!"  
  
"I guess someone wanted to bring a few pets," said Harry, finishing his ham sandwich. "Let's go introduce ourselves. You know, break the ice?"  
  
"I don't know Harry," said Ron. "They look strange to me."  
  
"Oh, come on Ron," said Harry as he and Hermione jerked him out of his seat.  
  
  
Meanwhile, on the other side of the cafeteria....  
  
"You know Chuck," said Peppermint Patty with her mouth full of food. "You'd make a great wizard."  
  
"Oh, I don't know," said Charlie Brown.   
  
"You won't know until you try, Charlie Brown," said Linus. He finished his salami sandwich.   
  
"Oh Schroeder," said Lucy flirtaciously. "Since you'll be a wizard, does that mean you'll give up your piano playing? That way, you'll have more time for me!"  
  
"NO I WON'T!" snapped Schroeder. "I brought a spare piano with me and for goodness sake, LEAVE ME ALONE!"  
  
"Admit you love me Schroeder," said Lucy batting her eyelashes.  
  
"I do not love you!"  
  
"Men," Lucy sighed. "They're always in denial."  
  
"Hey Sir," said Marcie to Peppermint Patty. "Are you going to eat the rest of that sandwich?"  
  
"Of course, Marcie," said Peppermint Patty. "Why, did you finish yours already?"  
  
"Yes, I did, Sir."  
  
"Well, you can have my baked potato and STOP CALLING ME SIR!"  
  
Charlie Brown's little sister Sally wasn't all too tickled about going to Hogwarts school.   
  
"But what if they make me do my multiplication tables and stuff, Big Brother?" asked Sally.  
  
"I wouldn't worry about it," Charlie Brown replied. "This is a totally different school."  
  
Snoopy and Woodstock were having a food fight, playfully throwing bits of sandwich at each other until Snoopy threw too far over Woodstock's puny head and the bit of food landed.....right on Draco Malfoy's face.  
  
"Oh no," thought Snoopy to himself as he and Woodstock huddled in terror.  
  
"Hey you!" yelled Malfoy to Charlie Brown. "Your stupid mutt threw this piece of food in my face!" He thrust the food into Charlie Brown's hands.   
  
Charlie Brown trembled in fear as Malfoy was rolling up his shirt sleeve, ready to knock the living daylights out of him. "Uh, uh, well, you see, he didn't mean to..."  
  
"Lay off, Malfoy!" snapped Harry. "Leave em' alone!"  
  
"Who asked you, Potter?!"  
  
"Leave them alone!"  
  
"Make me, Potter!" He held Charlie Brown by the collar and was ready to slug him when Professor Dumbledore emerged in the cafeteria to see what the commotion was about.   
  
"Malfoy!" he yelled. "Put him down and come with me to my office. That's 80 points from Slytherin."  
  
Malfoy mumbled some curse words under his breath as he was led to Dumbledore's office. Charlie Brown breathed a sigh of relief along with his dog Snoopy and his bird friend Woodstock.  
  
"You all right?" asked Hermione.   
  
"I'm fine," said Charlie Brown. "We're first years here."  
  
"We kind of figured that out," said Ron. "Where are you from?"  
  
"The United States."  
  
"Oh really?" said Ron. "I've always wanted to visit the states. My parents are planning on going on a trip there. Oh, and by the way, I'm Ron Weasley."  
  
"I'm Hermione Granger," said Hermione.  
  
"And I'm Harry Potter," said Harry. "We're in our fourth year."  
  
"That's nice," said Charlie Brown. "Who was that guy that was about to kill me?"  
  
"Oh him," said Hermione. "That's Draco Malfoy. He hangs out with two of his friends, Crabbe and Goyle. Just ignore them. They're bullies. By the way, you didn't tell us who you are."  
  
"Oh, my name's Charlie Brown and these are my friends."  
  
"Hi, I'm Lucy Van Pelt, and this is my annoying, sissy baby brother, Linus."  
  
Linus blushed. "Um, hello," he said.   
  
"Why on earth are you carrying that blanket?" asked Harry.   
  
"It's my security blanket," said Linus.  
  
"And I'm Schroeder," said Schroeder. "Do you like Beethoven?"  
  
"Um, let's not discuss that, Schroeder," said Charlie Brown.  
  
"Sorry."  
  
"Hiya Harry! My name's Peppermint Patty. Put er' there!" She shook Harry's hand vigorously.  
  
"And I'm Marcie."  
  
"I'm Sally Brown, Charlie Brown's little sister," said Sally. "Is this school like every other school I've been to?"  
  
"No, it's a school of wizardry," said Ron.  
  
Sally thought to herself. "Ron is so much cuter than Linus. He has the cutest eyes, the cutest smile, the cutest..."  
  
Sally's thoughts about Ron were interrupted when Charlie Brown introduced Snoopy and Woodstock.  
  
"They don't talk but the two have a language all their own," said Charlie Brown.  
  
"Um, what house are you all staying in?" asked Hermione.   
  
"Gryffindor," they all replied.   
  
"Wow, so do we!" said Ron. "After you all get settled in, we'll show you around."  
  
The group of first year students got their things all set up and they followed Ron, Harry, and Hermione on a tour of Hogwarts. They were especially amazed at the sport of Quiddich.   
  
"The object of the game is to get the golden snitch," said Harry. "While everyone else tries to fend off members of the opposing team. It's kind of like basketball or football or soccer."  
  
"I don't think I'll be good at it," said Charlie Brown. "I'm on a baseball team and it's pretty bad as it is, considering last season's record."  
  
"Well Charlie Brown," said Harry. "Quiddich is different than baseball. You're in the air, free to move about, whereas in baseball, you have to move whenever the time is right."  
  
"Wow, a game that Charlie Brown will actually do GOOD in," said Lucy.  
  
"Knock it off, Lucy," said Linus. "Stop picking on Charlie Brown."  
  
"Well, it's not my fault he's so wishy-washy."  
  
Harry let Charlie Brown get on his broom and take a little practice in Quiddich. The first few times were a disaster. Charlie Brown ended up with a face full of Quiddich turf each time he tried for the golden snitch.  
  
"Well, I was wrong," said Lucy. "Charlie Brown is a failure in any game he's in!"  
  
"Leave him alone, Lucy!" snapped Linus. "It's his first try at something new."  
  
After some more practice, under the watchful eyes of Harry Potter, Charlie Brown was allowed to play seeker in Gryffindor's first game of the season and they were set to play against.......Slytherin. Harry was busy prepping Charlie Brown for the big day. He kept encouraging Charlie Brown during lunchtime.  
  
"You can do it, Charlie Brown," said Harry. "You've been practicing for weeks now. You can do it!"  
  
"Oh no he can't, Potter," sneered Malfoy from across the cafeteria. "Wait till I take you losers on!" Crabbe and Goyle laughed along with Malfoy as they walked off.  
  
"Ignore them," said Hermione. "Keep thinking positive."  
  
The big event finally arrived. Charlie Brown was introduced in the game as a seeker for Gryffindor and was promptly booed by the crowd. He ignored it but yet he was still nervous.   
  
After the game had gone on for sometime, Charlie Brown spotted the golden snitch.....on Slytherin's side of the Quiddich field.   
  
"I can do this, I can do this, I can do this." Charlie Brown repeated these affirmations as he saw the unguarded snitch and was making his way toward it. Just then, two teammates from Slytherin saw Charlie Brown making a move for the golden snitch. They hurriedly went after him.  
  
"I'm being followed," said Charlie Brown as he sped up on his broom. The Slytherin teammates were just inches from him when he grabbed the golden snitch and held it all for everyone to see. Gryffindor had won their first Quiddich match of the season. Every student from Gryffindor cheered on Charlie Brown as Malfoy threw his cape down on the ground and jumped on it in anger.   
  
"Hey, I knew you could do it, Charlie Brown," said Harry, as everyone carried Charlie Brown on their shoulders.   
  
"You were great, Charlie Brown," said Ron. "That was awesome the way you outran, I mean, outflew those guys from Slytherin!"  
  
"Great job, Charlie Brown," said Linus.  
  
"Yeah, great job Charlie Brown," said Lucy. "You actually found your niche after all these years of being good in practically nothing!"  
  
"Shut up, Lucy!" growled Linus.  
  
Charlie Brown was helped back down to the ground and thanked his friends for their support.   
  
"Thank you all," said Charlie Brown. "I thank you for your support but I mostly thank Harry for teaching me all he knew about Quiddich."  
  
"You were awesome, Charlie Brown," said Hermione as she briefly kissed Charlie Brown's cheek. Charlie Brown blushed and grinned at the same time.  
  
"So how do you like Hogwarts, Chuck?" asked Peppermint Patty as she gave him a slap on the back. "After that awesome play you made in tonight's game."  
  
"I like it very much indeed," said Charlie Brown with a grin on his face.


	2. It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown, part II

It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown part 2   
  
_To have or have not: The controversy of Linus' blanket_  
  
By: Shannon  
  
(I do not own the characters in this fanfic...just so you know).  
  
The Peanuts gang, still in their first year, strolled in their third period class, each carrying three, massive textbooks that Professor McGongall had required for the class. As usual, Snoopy came in wearing his signature sunglasses and ended up carrying Woodstock's textbooks for him since he was too small to carry them.   
  
Linus sat in his usual spot up front, next to Charlie Brown, his best friend. He was holding his books under one arm and dragging his blue blanket in the other.   
  
"Aren't you worried that your blanket will get dirty?" asked Charlie Brown after Linus took his seat next to him.  
  
"No Charlie Brown," Linus replied. "I wash it twice a week."  
  
Just then, Professor McGongall came in the classroom and wrote on the board the things they would be doing during the class period.   
  
"All right, class," she said. "Open up your _Potions_ textbook to page 35 and do the review questions on that page. After you are finished, I will call up volunteers to come write them on the board."  
  
After about five minutes, the students had finished their review questions and hands were enthusiastically raised by those who wanted to write them up on the board.   
  
"Since there are eight questions, I will choose eight people to come up and write their answers on the board," said Professor McGongall. "All right, who hasn't come up to the board in a while? Okay, Schroeder, Snoopy, Woodstock, Lucy, Charlie Brown, Marcie, Peppermint Patty, and Linus. Please come up to the board and write your answers."  
  
The eight of them approached the blackboard and wrote their answers to the questions in their textbook. Woodstock had trouble since he had to write with one wing and flap the other at the same time.   
  
"All right, is everyone done?" asked Professor McGongall. "Let's see...Schroeder...well, that isn't exactly the answer I was looking for. Close but not exactly right. Lucy....no, that's not it. Look on page 27 for your answers. Snoopy....um....I might have accepted that on a possible test but it you need to be more specific. Woodstock, I cannot read your handwriting. Please write neater. Charlie Brown....no, that's not right but don't feel bad. This is a part of the learning process. Marcie.....very good, you're the first person to get the answer right. Peppermint Patty?"  
  
"Yes Ma'am?" asked Peppermint Patty.  
  
"Is that your answer?" asked Professor McGongall, pointing to Peppermint Patty's response on the blackboard.  
  
"Yes Ma'am."'  
  
"It's wrong."  
  
"Oh, ok Ma'am. Is it 6 with a remainder of 3?"  
  
"No...just...just go sit down, all right? All right.....Linus....hmm....you seemed to have got it right too, just like Marcie."  
  
"Thanks Ma'am," said Linus. That's when Professor McGongall spotted Linus' blanket.  
  
"Linus," said Professor McGongall. "Could you perhaps put your blanket away during class? You don't need it do you?"  
  
"Um, well," mumbled Linus.  
  
"No he doesn't, Ma'am!" yelled Lucy. "He's too old to carry that thing! Even our grandmother threatened to take it away from him the next time she would visit us!"  
  
"Lucy, was I asking you?" said Professor McGongall.  
  
"No Ma'am."  
  
"Linus, I suggest you put your blanket away during class time."  
  
"No," Linus replied. "This is MY blanket. It's a part of me. It's a part of my personality. You wouldn't want to take THAT away, now would you?"  
  
Professor McGongall thought for a minute then she responded. "Linus, put that blanket away or I will have to send you to Dumbledore's office."  
  
Suddenly, Sally, Charlie Brown's little sister (who has a huge crush on Linus) jumped from her seat.  
  
"Hey you mean old teacher!" shouted Sally. "If my sweet baboo wants to keep his blanket during class, he should be allowed to keep his blanket during class!"  
  
"Sally Brown!" scolded Professor McGongall. "Sit down this instant or I'll send YOU and Linus to see Albus Dumbledore."  
  
The whole class laughed. "Sweet baboo, eh?" sneered one classmate. "Linus has a girl-friend, Linus has a girl-friend..." Linus' face turned a deep, crimson red.  
  
"QUIET!" yelled Professor McGongall. "I have had enough. Linus Van Pelt and Sally Brown...the both of you head to Albus Dumbledore's office NOW!"  
  
  
  
Linus and Sally sat inside Dumbledore's office, waiting for him to come in and talk with them. He was outside his office, speaking with Professor McGongall.  
  
"Thanks a lot Sally!" snapped Linus under his breath. "Now because of us, including YOU, Gryffindor will probably lose points! And let me get one thing straight....I AM NOT YOUR SWEET BABOO!"  
  
Sally sighed. "Men," she thought. "They're always in denial."  
  
Just then, Dumbledore walked in his office with a rather dissappointed look on his face. He sat down in his chair, shuffled some papers and began to speak with the guilty parties.  
  
"Professor McGongall tells me that you have both been disruptive in class today," he said in a calm tone. "Can you explain what happened, Linus?"  
  
"Well, I was writing an answer to a question on the board. Professor McGongall said I got it right but then she told me to put away my blanket for the class period. I told her I didn't want to because it's my blanket and it's a part of my personality and my individuality. She then told me to put it away or she'd send me here."  
  
"Well Linus, you are rather too old to be carrying a blanket," said Dumbledore. "But I can see your point. And you, Sally. You were sent here because you were being disruptive in class."  
  
Sally stood up from her seat and yelled quite loudly, "I WAS NOT BEING DISRUPTIVE! THAT MEAN TEACHER WOULDN'T LET MY SWEET BABOO HAVE HIS BLANKET DURING CLASS!"  
  
"Now Sally, there is no reason to yell and by the way, Professor McGongall is not mean, she is simply doing her job."  
  
"For the LAST time Sally!" snapped Linus. "I AM NOT YOUR SWEET BABOO! GET IT THROUGH YOUR THICK SKULL!"  
  
"Linus, that was totally inappropriate," said Dumbledore. "If you two yell anymore, I would have to suspend you and deduct an extremely large amount of points from Gryffindor. Now calm down!"  
  
Dumbledore made the both of them take deep, long breaths until they felt better. Sally was permitted to go back to class but not before she apologized to Professor McGongall for rudely disrupting class. Linus, on the other hand, stayed while he spoke with Dumbledore and the Hogwarts School Psychologist, Dr. Radcliff. That afternoon, Dr. Radcliff, Albus Dumbledore, and Professor McGongall all discussed with Linus about his blanket.   
  
"I say the boy should put away the blanket for good," said Dr. Radcliff. "He's much too old to be carrying around a blanket."  
  
"But Dr. Radcliff," said Dumbledore. "When he carries around a blanket, isn't that a form of self-expression?"  
  
"Good gracious, no, Albus! He's just making an excuse to carry around that stupid, pathetic blanket around. I say we take the blanket and have it destroyed!"  
  
"Now hold on here, Dr. Radcliff," said Professor McGongall. "I have no problem with him keeping the blanket and taking it with him. It's just that when he takes it to class with him....now that's a distraction."  
  
As the discussion continued on, students crowded around Dumbledore's office. Harry, Ron, and Hermione heard about Linus and showed up with the crowd along with the Peanuts Gang.  
  
"I say he should keep the blanket," said Ron. "It's a part of his personality and his individuality."  
  
"I agree Ron but unfortunately, from what I can hear through the crack of the door to Dumbledore's office, Dr. Radcliff is condemning Linus for carrying the blanket period!" said Harry.   
  
"I have an idea," said Hermione. "I think we should tell THEM how we feel about the subject.   
  
"Well, I don't think highly of that dumb blanket," said Lucy coldly. "He's too old for it."  
  
"He may be too old for it, but that blanket...it's a part of him, Lucy," said Schroeder. "Who is Linus without his blanket?" The crowd of students cheered on Schroeder's comment. Just then, Professor McGongall opened the door to the office.  
  
"Will you all keep quiet and go do something?" she demanded angrily. "We are in the middle of a conference!"  
  
The crowd of students fell silent, then Schroeder stepped foward and promptly replied. "No."  
  
"What do you mean by, 'no'? I explicitly told you to leave the office area and go off and do something else. Go to the library, go read a book, go work on your homework!"  
  
"No," replied Schroeder. "We aren't leaving until you let Linus keep his blanket in class."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You heard me, Professor McGongall. Either you let Linus keep his blanket in class or we stay here UNTIL you do." With that, the crowd of students kept chanting, "LINUS, LINUS, LINUS," over and over again. Professor McGongall promptly closed the office door and told Dumbledore and Dr. Radcliff.  
  
"They will simply not leave unless we grant Linus permission to hold onto his blanket in class," she said worriedly. The chants outside the office door got louder and louder by the minute.   
  
Dr. Radcliff said nothing but walked out of the office to address the students.  
  
"To all of you," he said. "The very idea of an almost, preteen boy carrying around a blanket is rather absurd, is it not?"  
  
"Yes," the students cried out.   
  
"But what's that got to do with anything?" asked Hermione.  
  
"Well, don't you think Linus shouldn't be carrying that blanket around when he's too old for it?"  
  
"No," said Hermione. "But like Schroeder said, who is Linus WITHOUT his blanket? That blanket is a part of him. Sure, he may be too old for it, but that's a part of his individuality. It's like the clothes one wears. We wear certain clothes as a form of self-expression and not to follow some trendy crowd."  
  
"In that case, all four dormitories of Hogwarts will face massive point deduction if you continue to stand here and babble such nonsense," said Dr. Radcliff.  
  
The crowd fell silent again. This time, Charlie Brown decided to take a stand for his friend. "If that's what it takes, so be it," he said.   
  
Dr. Radcliff said nothing but went back into Dumbledore's office and told them what happened.  
  
"Well," said Dumbledore. "I suggest that you and McGongall and Linus to leave my office while I make a decision." The three of them filed out of Dumbledore's office while he stood with his back turned to them, stroking his chin while thinking about his final decision.  
  
  
"Linus!" shouted Charlie Brown as he saw his friend come out of Dumbledore's office. "I haven't seen you since third period!"  
  
Linus sighed. "I hope I get to keep my blanket," he said quietly.  
  
About a half-hour later, Dumbledore emerged from his office and cleared his throat.   
  
"Everyone," he said. "I have an announcement to make regarding the controversy of Linus' blanket. As you know, some people think his blanket should be left out of the classroom and others happen to think it's a form of self-expression. I have come to the conclusion that Linus' blanket is a form of self-expression and from now on, he is permitted to carry his blanket into class. No points will be deducted from any of the Hogwarts dormitories. I am proud that Linus stood up for himself and I respect the opinions of the opposition. I am also proud of all the students who stood up for Linus and supported him." He calmly went back into his office while cheers of joy and the chanting of "LINUS, LINUS, LINUS," filled the air.  
  
"Congrats Linus," said Peppermint Patty, slapping Linus on the back. "I knew you could do it!"  
  
"Well!" snapped Lucy. "You got away this time, little brother, but when we get home..."  
  
"Stay out of this, Lucy," said Charlie Brown.   
  
"Thank you all," said Linus. "I don't know what I would've done without you. I now realize that really good friends like you all are hard to come by. Thank you for your support."


	3. It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown, part III

It's Hogwarts, Charlie Brown part 3 - Schroeder's piano-playing is also a controversy!  
  
By: Shannon  
  
(I do not own the characters in the fanfic. And I'm not hashing on classical music either....lol. I happen to love classical music).  
  
Late at night, in the Gryffindor dormitory, Schroeder couldn't sleep. He sat up in bed, rubbed his fingers through his messy blonde hair. Looking down at his striped pajamas and looked at Charlie Brown, sleeping soundly in the bed next to him and Linus, also sleeping like a baby in the bed to his right. Across the way, Snoopy was sleeping quite well, with Woodstock sleeping a matchbox next to his bed. In fact, everyone was having a good night's sleep.  
  
Schroeder got up, put on his slippers and dashed to his toy piano that he brought along with him. He sat down and belted out Beethoven's Fur Elise. After about a minute and a half of playing the piano, a rather angry (and tired) Ron Weasley threw a crumpled piece of paper at Schroeder.  
  
"Hey, keep it down!" he said coldly. "Some of us would like some sleep."  
  
"Sorry Ron, but I'm playing as quietly as I can," said Schroeder.  
  
Ron said nothing but stuck earplugs in his ears and went back to sleep, placing his pillow over his head. Schroeder then started playing Chopin's Minute Waltz. Linus, tired from a hard day at school, got up from bed and approached Schroeder.  
  
"I'm sure I speak for everyone in here, Schroeder. Can you please keep it down? Some of us are trying to sleep," he said politely.  
  
Schroeder rolled his eyes and took his toy piano into the Gryffindor basement, hoping to be able to play his piano quietly without waking anyone. He sat down and started playing Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Unfortunately, the girls' dorm in Gryffindor was located right above the basement. Hermione and the girls were awakened by Schroeder. Frustrated and angry, Hermione tracked down the music to the basement.  
  
"Schroeder," said a rather grumpy Hermione, trying to be polite. "Will you PLEASE PLAY YOUR PIANO QUIETLY so that SOME of US can get some SLEEP?!  
  
"Look," said Schroeder. "I just woke up. I can't get back to sleep and I'm TRYING to be as quiet as possible. I moved down here to the basement due to the fact that I woke two people in my dorm. If I stop playing, then I won't be able to get sleepy enough to go back to bed."  
  
"But if you keep playing, you'll wake everybody up, Schroeder!"  
  
"Fine! I'm going to go somewhere else!" He picked up his piano, stormed out of the dorm, and looked to Hagrid's house. The light was on and the windows were wide open.  
  
"Maybe Hagrid can't sleep either," said Schroeder as he walked over to Hagrid's place. He knocked on the door and sure enough, Hagrid answered, fully awake.  
  
"Can't sleep either, huh?" asked Hagrid. "Well come on in and have some hot tea."  
  
Schroeder walked into Hagrid's place and had some hot tea before a roaring fire.  
  
"I assume you couldn't sleep tonight, Hagrid," said Schroeder. "The light was on in your house."  
  
"No Schroeder. I just couldn't get my eyelids to shut."  
  
"Me neither. So I started to play my piano but I woke a couple of my roommates. Then I went down to the basement to play but I forgot that the girls' dorm was right above it. Then I got into an argument with Hermione and now I'm here."  
  
"Why don't you play something for me right now?" asked Hagrid.  
  
"Really?" said Schroeder. "You mean you really want to hear me play?"  
  
"Sure!"   
  
"Any requests?"  
  
"No. Just play whatever you want."  
  
Schroeder then played Moonlight Sonata again, very slowly and quietly. A few minutes later, Hagrid fell asleep in his chair. Schroeder started to get sleepy himself so he put out the fire in Hagrid's fireplace, blew out all the candles and went back to his dorm.   
  
The next morning, when Schroeder was in the middle of his potions class witih Professor Snape, a runner came to the class with a note.  
  
"Well, looks like Schroeder will be visiting Mr. Dumbledore," said Snape slyly, with a sneer and a smile on his face.   
  
Schroeder blushed as he walked to Albus Dumbledore's office. He sat in front of Dumbledore and waited for him to get off the phone with another teacher.   
  
"Ah, Schroeder," said Dumbledore. "Hello."  
  
"Hello," Schroeder repeated.  
  
"Well, the reason why you're here is that I've gotten some reports from your classmates about your piano-playing at night. The ladies in the cafeteria heard you playing from the basement last night. They room RIGHT next to the basement, where you were playing your piano."  
  
"I didn't realize that," said Schroeder. "I forgot that the girls lived above the basement but I didn't know anyone rooming NEXT to the basement.  
  
"Well, I think an apology is in order," said Dumbledore. "And there will be points deducted from Gryffindor."  
  
"Well, I'm sorry that I woke anyone up," said Schroeder. "But I'm not sorry for playing my piano. That's what I always do when I can't sleep."  
  
"Then read a book."  
  
"You don't understand, Dumbledore! The piano is a part of my life. I play it as a form of self-expression. I play it to relieve stress and keep myself occupied AND I especially play it when I can't..."  
  
"That's enough, Schroeder," said Dumbledore. "Please do not make me angry. From now on, you will only be allowed to play your piano on the weekend afternoons from noon to 4 p.m."  
  
"But, but, but..."  
  
"No buts, Schroeder. I already deducted 50 points from Gryffindor. If you say one word, I will deduct 100."  
  
Schroeder angrily stormed out of Dumbledore's office and slammed the door behind him. Never had he been so cross in his life. Later that day, word got around that Schroeder's piano playing was restricted to four hours on the weekend afternoons.  
  
"It's not fair!" said Schroeder that night at dinner. "I love playing that piano!"  
  
"I don't think it's fair either," said Harry. "But I don't enjoy the fact that you played the piano at 11 p.m. at night just so you can fall asleep again, but I've got to admit, it put Hagrid to sleep."  
  
"I was playing as quietly as I could," said Schroeder.   
  
"Apparently, it wasn't quiet enough," said Ron. "But I don't think they should restrict your playing like that. At least you had the decency to take it to the basement."  
  
"But the cafeteria ladies live NEXT to the basement and the girls' dorm is above it," said Schroeder. "I'll go nuts if I don't get to play my piano AT LEAST once a day."  
  
"Then tell Dumbledore," said Charlie Brown. "He'll understand."  
  
"No he won't. I tried to say something but he threatened to subtract 100 points from Gryffindor if I continued to argue with him. He already subtracted 50 points. If there was only a place I could go to play my piano without waking anyone at night!"  
  
"Hey!" said Linus. "There's a basement below the cafeteria. And no one is living around it! Try it tonight."  
  
"But when I sneak out of my dorm with my piano..."  
  
"No one's going to see you, Schroeder," said Hermione. "It's night and the only person around during that time is Hagrid."  
  
  
That night, Schroeder snuck out to the basement below the cafeteria and belted out Beethoven's 9th symphony. Then he played Handel's Watermusic. And then he played Swan Lake by Tchaikovsky. After that, he played Tales of the Vienna Woods and Blue Danube by Johann Strauss. He played several other pieces and still no one came to the basement to be quiet, but then he saw a shadowy figure enter the basement with a few boxes. Schroeder assumed it was Hagrid and kept on playing his piano until he heard someone yell, "Hey!"  
  
Schroeder was startled. The lights came on and the shadowy figure was ALBUS DUMBLEDORE! He was carrying some boxes of plastic cups down to the cafeteria since the runner and currier to the cafeteria was asleep.  
  
"I can't believe this," said Dumbledore. "Now, I'm going to have to deduct 200 points from Gryffindor....."  
  
"Hey!" said a voice from behind. It was Hagrid.  
  
"He wasn't wakin' up anyone," said Hagrid. "He came down here to play his piano quietly so no one would wake up at night."  
  
"Well, for one thing," said Dumbledore. "I couldn't hear him play when I was outside this basement.  
  
"Dumbledore," said Hagrid. "I say you should give him back his piano privledges. He can play his piano here at night where it's quiet and safe."  
  
"Oh all right," said Dumbledore. "Maybe I was a bit hasty. You can play your piano anytime you want, Schroeder. If you're going to play at night, you have my permission to come here and play so you do not disturb others."  
  
"Ahem," said Schroeder.   
  
"Oh all right. I'll give Gryffindor back the points I took."  
  
  
The next night, Schroeder was asked to give a concert in Snape's lecture hall and he was allowed to play anything he wanted. After the concert, everyone cheered and clapped. Then, Dumbledore commissioned Schroeder to be Hogwarts' pianist for as long as he attended school there.   



End file.
